JAMA network open
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Severe hypoglycemia is a serious and potentially preventable complication of diabetes, with some of the most severe episodes requiring emergency department (ED) care or hospitalization. A variety of health conditions increase the risk of hypoglycemia. People with diabetes often have multiple comorbidities, and the association of such multimorbidity with hypoglycemia risk in the context of other risk factors is uncertain. ⋯ In this cohort study of adults with diabetes, the risk of an ED visit or hospitalization for hypoglycemia appeared to be highest among patients with type 1 diabetes, multiple comorbidities, prior severe hypoglycemia, and sulfonylurea and/or insulin use. At-risk patients may benefit from individualized treatment regimens to decrease their risk of hypoglycemia.
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Racial and ethnic disparities in access to health care may result from discrimination. ⋯ In this study, black and Hispanic patients were more likely to be offered an appointment, but they were asked more frequently about their insurance status than white callers. Black and Hispanic callers experienced longer wait times than white patients, indicating a barrier to timely access to primary care.
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Associations of educational attainment with improved health outcomes have been found to be weaker among racial/ethnic minority groups compared with those among the racial/ethnic majority group. Recent research has also documented higher than expected prevalence of smoking in highly educated African American and Hispanic adults. ⋯ This study found that high school graduation had a weaker inverse association with tobacco advertisement exposure among Hispanic than non-Hispanic young adults. Future research should explore the role of targeted marketing strategies of the tobacco industry that largely advertise tobacco in areas with high concentrations of racial/ethnic minority groups. Future research should also evaluate the efficacy of more restrictive marketing policies on racial/ethnic disparities in tobacco use.
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Given the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), there is a need for simpler and automated diagnostic approaches. ⋯ Automatic analysis of MM patterns provided reliable performance in RDI calculation. The use of this index in OSA diagnosis appears to be promising.